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Annaliese Kaelin
Appearance When Annaliese isn’t decked out in her armor, she’s usually wearing a pretty dress or a blouse and skirt. Since most of her money goes toward protecting runaway slaves and other oddities, she rarely worries about owning the most fashionable of clothing. She is, however, very hygienic. Annaliese may not dress like Thedas' next top model, but she certainly takes care of herself. If there’s anything that’s apparent about her physical appearance, it’s her hair. Annaliese’s hair is dark red and curly. When it isn’t held up in a bun, it reaches well past her shoulders. Her complexion is rather pale which accentuates her blue eyes rather nicely. Overall, she’s a pretty woman, but don’t be surprised if the corners of her eyes get a little wrinkly when she smiles. (She is getting on in years, after all.) Personality If there's anything that's obvious, Annaliese seems to always be smiling. Speaking in general terms, she's the type of person that comes off as an optimist. Perhaps that's the reason why her husband’s comrades believed that she dealt with his death so well. However, facades are something Annaliese seems to be a professional at putting up, especially around people that she wants to be left alone from. Due to her cheeriness, people have a tendency to mistake her for an airhead. Annaliese is the type of person that always seems to have her head in the clouds. Her comrades, when they first met, tended to not take her seriously until they actually saw her on the battlefield. However, when people underestimate her, Annaliese is quick to use those who make that mistake to her advantage. At times, Annaliese simply has to lie to save face, and over the years she has become a master of the art. If you get past the exterior of her personality then you may come to find that she has a serious side. A very serious side. When it comes to work every little detail is important. Anna may not have a lot riding on campaigns anymore, but she’s a seasoned warrior and doesn’t like it when fresh meat balls things up. She tries her best to make sure that fights don't go sour, at least on her side. If they do it reflects back on her, even if she wasn't directly involved in the killing itself. Despite her well known campaigns, Annaliese is extremely shy about knowledge outside of the battlefield. It's a sharp contrast in comparison to how confident and calm she is while slicing through Darkspawn and dragons. If a person so happens to hear her speaking in Qunari tongue or attempting to learn the elven language, then you’ll get a laugh and a dismissive wave. She expects people to treat her oddly for that, if only because she’s used to people expecting that she, as a woman, should get in the kitchen and leave the politics and fighting to the men. Still, she's not all sunshine and rainbows. Although Annaliese tries to be warm and maternal when she's around others, the woman definitely has issues when it comes to certain things. She never let go of her husband’s death, especially since she still cannot find the ones that killed him. The more time she spends attempting to find the killers, the more sadistic and ruthless she becomes. Torture isn’t beyond her. In fact, she enjoys it very much. If one so happens to walk in on one of her little interrogations, they’ll get to see quite the frightening side of her—a side that the party may wish to never see again. When it comes to someone she loves, the woman definitely isn’t beyond getting down and dirty to protect them. However, to most she's just that smiley woman that (kind of) comes off as an airhead. Although she's friends with many people, only a select few are aware of how she really feels. When push comes to shove, she'd like to keep it that way. After all, without some form of positivity she knows that she'd be dead, just like most of her comrades. In the end, all she wants is to find what it means to feel human…and perhaps come back to her former glory as a valiant warrior. Biography Born into a noble family, Annaliese grew up by the side of her betrothed. However, when she met a charismatic mercenary she became quite smitten with him. Determined to get the man’s attention, she challenged him to a duel and nearly won. They hit it off quite well and for some time they just considered themselves friends. Matthius, who would later become her husband, was mystified by her knowledge of swordsmanship. While having a drink with Annaliese's father the man explained to him that since Annaliese was the sole heir to their property, he wished for her to know how to defend it with her life. From a young age he had taught his daughter how to fight, if only because he wanted her to be able to protect herself when he was no longer able to protect her. After some time the man was forced to leave due to an assignment. When he left, she realized that she really did have feelings for him. In a reckless manner she decided to sneak away from home. After a while, Annaliese did find Matthius and his men, although he was hardly happy about her throwing herself into danger. Angry and worried, Matthius threatened to send her home. However, she challenged him to yet another duel and won. Of course, by default, she stayed to fight by his side. In the middle of their campaign, it was decided they would make a quick stop at Kirkwall to make sure his small estate was in order. While there, Matthius and Annaliese had a quick, private wedding in a local Chantry. Of course, they wanted to keep things quiet, especially from Matthius’ fellow assassins. The two were quite happy with their dirty little secret, although it eventually became obvious that they were more than just friends. Although her relationship with her parents was less than stellar due to her running away, she did send them letters after she was married. Annaliese made sure that they knew she was very much alive and was not going to go back home an unmarried woman. While they fought for glory and riches, Matthius was separated from the party when a group of blood mages attacked. Annaliese and the rest of the group barely escaped with their lives. All they could find of Matthius was a small amulet, a family heirloom that held quite a bit of weight where he was from. Annaliese took it as her own and became determined to find her husband’s killers. After her husband’s funeral, Annaliese was far more distant with her comrades. It was at that point that she dedicated the remainder of her life to finding her husband's killers. She parted from the group and struck out on her own. Without much guidance, she decided she would head back to Denerim to see what was left of the family she deserted so long ago. When she went back to Denerim, she was hardly surprised to find that most of her family was dead. Her father had been poisoned during a grand ball and her mother had been knifed by an assassin. However, a large sum of coin was left for her. She used the coin only when she had to, but ended up splurging and renovating her husband’s estate. Exactly how she found the money was a story in itself. As a child she would run off to a large tree in the outskirts of Kirkwall whenever she wanted to hide something. She would hide things from pretty necklaces to bird feathers. It honestly didn't matter what it was, the tree was just her secret hiding place. Of course, a servant would always follow her and make sure that she was all right. Her parents learned about the hiding place from the servant and years later used the same place to hide their fortune for when Annaliese would return. In their will was a cryptic message that only Annaliese understood. It simply read, 'The coin is where your childhood memories are hidden.' Amused that her parents would use her own hiding place as their own, she fetched the money with the help of her servants. However, when she decided to use the manor to hide runaway slaves and other people that she could generally be sympathetic towards. After losing her husband Annaliese became less involved in politics, so she had quite a hard time with relating to the other nobles. After a long campaign in the name of her husband, Annaliese decided to take a small rest in Kirkwall. Those that actually knew that Annaliese was a Reaver often found the predicament quite ironic. The irony was in fact something Annaliese took pride in. Shortly after her husband was assassinated, the woman had a bit of an epiphany.If she had to fight blood mages, she wanted to fight fire with fire. It took quite a bit of effort to find a maleficar that would help her. Of course, money and a sharp tongue were her weapons in that regard. At the price of fifty gold pieces and a manor to hide in if the maleficar angered the locals, Annaliese became a Reaver. She was more than happy to use a blood mage's greatest power against them. Timeline [Sharp Little Pinpricks]--20th Solace [Ebost Issala]--21st Solace [Remember That One Night at the Hanged Man?]--28th Solace Relationships Category:Character Index Category:Original Characters Category:Mercenaries Category:Nobility Category:Fereldans